The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to weaken environmental conditions tied to subsidies for farmers.
It comes after farmers across the European Union staged protests over multiple months over issues including EU regulations and cheap imports.
EU countries and lawmakers must now negotiate and approve the proposals.
What do we know about the planned changes in agricultural policy?
The EU Commission said that the plans could save farmers up to €1.58 billion (around $1.77 billion) per year and limit on-site checks on farms to once per year.
Meanwhile, national authorities would be able to receive around €200 million.
Subsidies under the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) amount to around €387 billion, or around a third of the EU’s budget for 2021-2027.
Under the proposal, smaller farmers would be exempted from conditions tying the receipt of subsidies to environmental regulations.
Certified organic farms would also be considered as automatically meeting certain environmental regulations.
The Commission also proposed allowing farms to remove more grasslands, the presence of which causes more CO2 to be stored in the soil, and receive more subsidies for the preservation of peatlands and wetlands, which are vital for the management of droughts and floods.
Why does the EU Commission want to simplify its CAP policy?
In its Wednesday statement, the Commission said it was aiming to “boost farmers’ competitiveness” and reduce the “administrative burden” on the agricultural sector.
Speaking of the proposal, EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said: “We are doing our best to cut the bureaucracy so [farmers] can focus on what they do best; producing food for all of us while protecting our natural resources.”
Edited by: Louis Oelofse
